YESTERYEARS: Highway 35 reopens after mudslide in 1997

Hood River News archives
November 10, 1977 — “Stoking up” the new stove for Mt. Hood-Parkdale Pioneer Potlatch, nutrition committee member Agnes Dailey does the honors while participants in the program witness it. It really isn’t a wood stove, it’s an electric one donated by Hood River Seniors to replace the old one in the Mt. Hood Town Hall. In addition, Elders of the Mosier Valley presented the upper valley group with a new electric roaster and two coffee makers. The presentations were during the Friday evening dinner of the Mt. Hood-Parkdale group.

Today (Wednesday) the work at the Red cross workroom at the Commercial club will be entirely devoted to the making up and assembling of Christmas packages, as this is the last day of grade for the local chapter to fulfill its allotment in order that the packages may have time to reach the front by Christmas.

1927 — 90 years ago

When residents looked from their windows early on Wednesday morning, it was to realize that King Winter has paid the Mid-Columbia region a visit during the night, for the hills were covered with a light blanket of snow. There was no snow in town, but a light fall was reported at Oak Grove and similar levels. South of Parkdale, snow fell to a depth of five inches and to nearly 10 inches in the forest reserve. A number of cars coming from points east of Hood River on Wednesday morning carried about two inches of snow on their tops.

VERBATIM: Partners help airborne Indian Creek cleanup

The scene along 13th Street was unusual Monday afternoon as a helicopter ferried car bodies to a landing spot next to the Ford dealership in Hood River.

What a crowd (including a TV crew) watched from Hood River Shopping Center across the highway wasn’t a promotional stunt but a cleanup effort. The Columbia Gorge Community College and Hood River Watershed Group worked together to combine volunteers and help from a federal agency to clean up Indian Creek.

“It’s a great partnership effort,” said Dan Spatz, executive director of Resource Development for CGCC.

He and about 14 others donned gloves, safety glasses and hard hats to stand by at a drop station on the Heights. Meanwhile, down below, Watershed Coordinator Steve Stampfli led the efforts of a second group to hook rigging lines to car bodies and other trash.

Bonneville Power Administration donated the efforts of a helicopter and its crew for the day’s work, which is part of cleaning up the area that runs along Indian Creek through the new campus for the community college. Eventually, the county’s park and recreation district and college plans to build another section of the Indian Creek Trail through the area.

The work actually is the final disposal portion of the project. Erwin Swetnam, of Hood River Garbage, and Brini Merten of RGGB had already removed some 50 bags of trash and 500 pounds of steel. Volunteers had cut up the car bodies after pulling them loose from vegetation that had overgrown and entangled the trash.

—Hood River News, November 7, 2007

1937 — 80 years ago

The Hood River Guide, published by the student body of Hood River High School, was rated, for the month of September, among the 15 outstanding mimeographed newspapers put out by high schools in the nation.

There was a distinct chill in the air on Monday morning and the reason was plain to all who looked at Mount Hood and Mount Adams, on which the snowline had descended to a marked degree over the weekend. On the traveled highway in this county, first snow of the season was reported Sunday on the Spur Road at Ghost Ridge, but it was not sufficiently deep to hinder automobile traffic.

1947 — 70 years ago

The mobile x-ray unit will be in Hood River Nov. 17-20, and every resident of Hood River County is urged to take advantage of this opportunity to have their annual free chest x-ray. All ex-servicemen who served in areas where they may have been in close contact with tuberculosis should be x-rayed because any infection they may have picked up will be showing now. “Man’s cry against tuberculosis can be won!” Do your duty, make you chest x-ray appointment today!

A general discussion on plans for a new Elks temple was held last evening by Hood River Elks, BPOE. The proposed new temple will be erected at the site of the temporary Elks parking lot at Cascade Avenue and Third Street.

1957 — 60 years ago

A rash of burglaries that have harassed shop owners in both the city and county still have local police officials mystified. Police Chief Francis Woolston reports two major burglaries in the last four days, while the county sheriff’s office has answered calls in the county area concerning similar crimes. White Salmon reported a burglary this week and a report from The Dalles describes another illegal entry case. Police and sheriff’s officers are investigating all the crimes on a coordinated basis.

1967 — 50 years ago

Traffic conditions on Highway 30 (I-80N) between Hood River and Cascade Locks took a turn for the better Tuesday when a 10-mile stretch of freeway opened to traffic. Originally planned for Sunday, the opening of the four-lane stretch from Viento State Park west to Cascade Locks was moved back a day, then was finally opened on Tuesday. It leaves only about three miles of the 13-mile project restricted to two lane traffic. Even that is expected to open in the near future.

1977 — 40 years ago

A regional jail facility will be considered by Hood River County Board of Commissioners, but not before a law enforcement agency study of the issue. The board referred a proposal for regional jail facility support to the agency after conserving a letter from Dan Mosee, a Multnomah County Commissioner, suggesting that Hood River participate in a jail located in Multnomah County. Sheriff Bob Lunch dislikes the concept of the regional jail and told this to the commission. “My personal feeling is I don’t care for the regional jail idea,” Lynch said. “I’m more inclined to favor the system we have now — and improved what we have.”

1987 — 30 years ago

The Hood River Brewing Company, which opened at the Diamond Pressroom in October, is beginning to attract some well-known customers, most recently Oregonian columnist Jonathan Nicholas, who was in Hood River Friday to talk about the microbrewery with Jerome Chicvara, company president/marketing director. Nicholas said he first heard of the local brewery when Hood River’s tall ship Sara carried the company’s first shipment of Full Sail Golden Ale to Portland early last month. In Monday’s edition of Portland’s daily newspaper, Nicholas dedicated his entire column to the local microbrewery.

1997 — 20 years ago

Highway 35 reopened to vehicles Saturday night after being closed for two days when mud, rocks and trees slid onto its surface near Polallie Creek. The slide 30 miles south of Hood River was reported to Oregon State Police at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 30. Traffic zipped through the area on both lanes Sunday, but John Thomas of the Oregon Department of Transportation said it will be slower going for the next few days. ODOT will shut down four miles of Highway 35 to one lane, with motorists following a pilot car through the stretch to allow workers to remove debris still clogging the ditches along the highway.

2007 — 10 years ago

Federal and state agencies held the first open house Monday to hear from the public what they think of alternatives to fix Highway 35. Following last year’s debris flows that blew out part of the road, the federal government came up with $47 million (use to include design and construction) for a more permanent fix. “Every three to five years, these (repairs) keep happening. The status quo just isn’t cutting it anymore and it’s too important of a transportation corridor to just continue to let it get beat up,” said George Fekaris, project manager for the Western Lands Federal Highway Administration.